A new level of coffee addiction: we tell you why you add cardamom to coffee

Many baristas recommend adding cardamom to coffee. But they don’t tell you how to add it and why to do it. However, this spice has many secrets that you need to know before using it in making drinks.

What is cardamom?

Cardamom is a distant relative of ginger. It is a perennial herb grown in India, Guatemala and the island of Ceylon. The cost of cardamom grains is quite high, so if you are offered to buy ground spice for pennies, be wary - it is probably a mixture of cheaper spices with the addition of a small amount of cardamom to give an original aroma.

There are two varieties of cardamom - green and black. The first tastes like fresh notes of eucalyptus and camphor, the second is somewhat reminiscent of prunes.

Coffee with cardamom - what are the benefits?

Cardamom is added to drinks for one reason: it adds new flavors to them. If the coffee is initially of poor quality (too bitter, too sour, over-roasted), it can be made quite suitable for consumption by mixing it with spices.

It is believed that coffee with cardamom has a positive effect on potency, so men use it as an aphrodisiac. Women suffering from PMS note an improvement in their condition after drinking this drink. It also helps both sexes fight the effects of stress and nervous tension.

How much cardamom to add to coffee?

There is no exact dosage - you can determine the amount of spice according to your taste. However, it has a very bright, rich and pungent taste, so you shouldn’t be generous by pouring spoons of it into a cup - most likely, a drink with too much of this spice will have to be poured out. In addition, in excess quantities, cardamom causes diarrhea and heartburn.

As a guide for how much cardamom to add to coffee, you can use the following proportions: 2 grains per 150 ml of water.

Whole or ground?

Ground spices are most often sold in markets and stores. The fact is that substandard raw materials are used for its preparation. It has not become moldy and its shelf life has not expired, but it cannot boast of a presentable appearance - for example, some of the pods have become crushed or opened. It turns out that ground cardamom is cheaper and available to people with different income levels. If it is factory packaged, you can buy it without any worries. But it’s better not to take this spice by weight: in the open air, essential oils quickly erode, and the aromatic powder turns into tasteless and odorless dust.

As for pods with whole grains, they cost several times more. But they give dishes and drinks a more pronounced taste. The only inconvenience is that you need to have a separate mill for them in your house.

Recipes

Coffee with cardamom can be prepared in the classic way - over a fire in a Turk. You can also use the spice to add to an instant drink.

To brew coffee in a Turk, you will need the following ingredients:

• a tablespoon of roasted and ground coffee beans;
• three cardamom seeds;
• 150 milliliters of clean filtered water;
• sugar to taste.

Dry ingredients are poured with water and brought to a boil, then immediately removed from heat. When the foam subsides, the procedure is repeated twice more. It is important to ensure that the stove operates at the minimum setting.

Instant coffee is prepared in the proportions that a particular person likes and depends on the manufacturer and brand of the drink. However, the spice is not added whole, but ground. To prevent the pieces from interfering with drinking, the finished drink should be strained after it has steeped.

Myths about coffee with cardamom

There are many myths about the miraculous properties of cardamom - it’s time to dispel them.

• Myth 1: Cardamom neutralizes caffeine.

There are no substances in this spice that would be released during brewing and interact in any way with caffeine. But it has a strong taste and smell that overpowers the aroma of coffee.

By the way, cardamom itself has a tonic effect on people, similar to the effect of drinking caffeine, so the nervous system experiences a “double blow.” To make the drink less aggressive, you need to dilute it with milk with a fat content of at least 2.5%.

• Myth 2 – coffee with cardamom helps you lose weight (burns fat).

Like other spices - ginger, black pepper, cinnamon - it irritates the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines. This promotes digestion and keeps the gastrointestinal tract in good shape. However, it is impossible to lose weight by consuming cardamom: the substances it contains do not participate in the processes of fat breakdown.

• Myth 3: If you add cardamom to coffee, you can be cured of most common diseases.

It’s hard to call it a panacea - it’s just a flavor and aroma additive.Moreover, in case of cardiovascular diseases and high blood pressure, it can worsen a person’s condition. If you have stomach problems (gastritis, peptic ulcers), cardamom is contraindicated - its use leads to internal bleeding. This is not an exhaustive list, so if you have serious health problems, you should consult your doctor before adding cardamom to food or drinks.

• Myth 4 - drinks with cardamom slow down the development of caries.

Tooth decay is a bacterial disease, and this spice actually has an antimicrobial effect. True, in order to get a noticeable result, you need to boil a tablespoon of ground grains in a glass of water for 20 minutes and rinse your mouth with the resulting decoction every day for 3-5 minutes. It can also be used for sore throat and stomatitis. As for coffee, very little spice is added to it (approximately a pinch per cup), so this drink is powerless in the fight against microorganisms.

• Myth 5: Pregnant women should not drink coffee with cardamom.

If the doctor has not forbidden a woman to use this spice, then it will not cause any harm to the body. But pregnant women are not advised to drink a lot of coffee, so you definitely shouldn’t abuse it.

Coffee with spices is delicious and sometimes even healthy. If you have no contraindications to consuming cardamom, be sure to try making an invigorating drink with it.